I like your car E-Book

Mali Fariña

• Herausgeber: Angels Fortune Editions
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 134

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

Although her heart is full of scars from the past, Amaia lives happily in her apartment with her dog Lian (ending in n, for lian). A hard-working and independent woman, she enjoys her nights out with her soul friends, The Five Sisters, without thinking about love. One morning, a sports car driven by a famous man crosses in front of her. As she walks to the office, she can't stop thinking about the hottie she just saw and how she would look sitting in the passenger seat. Her fantasies come to fruition when, suddenly, she sees him enter the office and her boss introduces him as her new partner. Boom, boom, boom. Everything would have been perfect if one of the secretaries hadn't also set her sights on him... Delve into the pages of Las chicas de Mali, where love, jealousy, envy and false appearances will make your heart beat.

Leseprobe

Mali Fariña

 

I like your car

Collection Mali’s Girls

Translated by Ana Ferrer Soler

Primera edición: junio de 2022© Copyright de la obra: Mali Fariña© Copyright de la edición: Angels Fortune Editions

Código ISBN: 978-84-125198-8-4Código ISBN digital: 978-84-125198-9-1

Depósito legal: B-11355-2022Corrección: Anna AlberolaDiseño y maquetación: Cristina Lamata

Edición a cargo de Ma Isabel Montes Ramírez

Traducido por ©Ana Ferrer Soler

Código ISBN traducción: 987-884-129073-4-6

Revisión traducción: Blanca De La Rosa

©Angels Fortune Editions www.angelsfortuneditions.com www.angelsfortune.com

Derechos reservados para todos los paísesNo se permite la reproducción total o parcial de este libro, ni la compilación en un sistema informático, ni la transmisión en cualquier forma o por cualquier medio, ya sea electrónico, mecánico o por fotocopia, por registro o por otros medios, ni el préstamo, alquiler o cualquier otra forma de cesión del uso del ejemplar sin permiso previo por escrito de los propietarios del copyright.«Cualquier forma de reproducción, distribución, comunicación pública o transformación de esta obra solo puede ser realizada con la autorización de sus titulares, excepto excepción prevista por la ley»

DEDICATED TO ALL

MY BOYS AND GIRLS



Prologue

I had heard a rap that started like this: “I like your car because it has huge wheels…” And yes, I really liked that car. It attracted my attention not only because of its classic lines, the navy-blue color and its tinted windows, but also because it was always shiny, as if it had just come out from the dealership. Also, its number plate was HHH (like the good Spanish ham) and I thought to myself that, to top it all off, it had a pedigree!

Who would drive it: the classic trophy wife of some rich guy? A young man with good taste and money? A businesswoman? … It wouldn’t take long for her to find out.

1

2

BACK TO WORK

I come back and remember that it’s Monday, and moreover, a tedious Monday without much workload. Already sitting in my office chair, I concentrate on the paperwork on my desk. My boss and director of the company, a Galician man in his fifties, still quite attractive with grey streaks in his dark hair, very tall and well dressed, approaches my desk, and tells me that a new employee, Yago, will come to work in the company, but he will start at the bottom of the ladder before taking charge of everything.

“I’m old school,” he says, “and the position must be earned. It’s not enough to have a good GPA. I know people who are useless with their employee despite having straight A’s in their degrees. Let him start by going to collect these unpaid invoices.

After about thirty minutes or so, he enters my little space, dressed casually but smartly, very tall, with his green mirrored sunglasses, his short, trimmed beard and his black hair slicked back in a ponytail… Mmmm! Bang, bang, bang, he’s finally in front of me! I get tongue-tied when I start to talk, and before I can even finish my greeting, he interrupts me:

“Hey, Amaia, it’s Yago, do you have something for me?”

Again bang, bang, bang! He has a beautiful smile, and I could eat him up, he looks so much like the actor Sebastián Rulli! I hold out the folder with the invoices and all I can get out is a high-pitched voice that tells him: “Here, that’s what Mr. Marin has left for you. You will have to dispatch with me what you bring back when you return.

He takes the folder and answers me. “I’ll be back.”

“When?” I ask.

There is no answer. There is only a fragrance left in the air that I find fresh, masculine, and utterly delicious. And since I’m a dog of prey when it comes to scents, I won’t stop until I find this brand.

3

ANOTHER DAY WORKING

It is already Thursday, 8:30 in the morning and there is no sign of Yago. Mr. Marín asks if the invoices have been paid yet and repeats his usual mantra.

“Payments are coming up; it is important not to miss the deadlines.”

We make cardboard boxes for all kinds of goods, from shoes to household appliances.

“He didn’t come to see me, but he may have left them on your table without telling us.”

“I doubt it, Amaia. He’s a spoiled child and thinks he can do whatever he wants. I’ll give you his phone number and you can call him.”

Oh, my goodness. I dial his number. So annoying! A grunt sounds and I introduce myself.

“Amaia? Amaia who?”

My head is still full of noises… and he hangs me up.

I dial again just in case I’ve made a mistake, but once again, that rough voice answers angrily and, simply, he tells me to go to hell and hangs up again. Oh, hell no! He has gone and done it now! He has just awakened the wild beast underneath this sweet little kitten’s façade, and he doesn’t know that side of me. When he comes back, he will be having a few words from me! I’ll deal with him. Even my friends don’t talk to me like that because they know me and they know not to pull something like this with me. They’ve already suffered my “scratches”. So, I’m not gonna let what this spoiled brat pulled slide.

4

LIAN ARRIVES

I live in a small city in the province of Barcelona. We have the town square, a marina and even a castle. I live in a rental housing managed by the state. It’s cheap and small, very small. The good side is that, as well as being cheap, it has a parking lot right underneath the building and I can get to work in less than 15 minutes from home. I share it with my greatest love, Lian.

Lian is a sweetheart. He is my dog. He is small, barely weights six pounds, and according to the vet, in his blood there are traits of Chihuahua, Pomeranian and I don’t know how many other breeds. I don’t care because it was love at first sight. He was hiding among the rubbish accumulated in the industrial estate where I work, in the building right behind ours which is abandoned. He was just a little black cloud with white dots splattered all over his dirty, wounded body. As soon as he came shivering up to me, I placed him in one of the boxes I always carry in my car’s boot and went straight to the nearest vet. I was late the first day after my holiday and got a little scolding, but I didn’t care, and my explanation was that I had overslept.

The vet cleaned up the wounds on his paw, had to give him some stitches in his ear and gave me some instructions on how to best take care of him. Above all, a lot of love and patience, as he was still a puppy. He was less than three months old, and he had already suffered the viciousness of man.

We have been together for three years now and every 1st of September (the day I found him), we go there, and I prepare our favorite menu for each of us. Besides, my birthday is a day earlier, on the 31st of August, and back then it was a great birthday gift.

5

MY SCRATCHES

The whole morning has gone by, and the rich kid still hasn’t turned up. My day is over, and I go home. I feed Lian his food, have a light lunch, chilling while watching an episode of the tv show I'm currently watching (I love tv series and being able to do a marathon of episodes at home on weekends) and get changed to go for a walk.

I go out with Lian every day and we go to the beach; and it's on this walk of about three kilometers from home that I find the car. It is usually in front of a small house with a garden near the promenade. I realize that if the car is here, so is the Spoiled Brat. And my little head starts plotting my “scratches”.

Mr. Marín doesn't ask me anything, but it's already another Monday when I'm about to clock off and the Spoiled Brat still hasn't turned up. I see the car in the usual place again. We finish our walk; I take a shower and start preparing lunch and dinner for tomorrow and my dinner for tonight. Meanwhile, my revenge is almost ready. Tomorrow, if he doesn't come, I set it in motion.

I have the necessary material at home.

One more day and still no sign of him, not even on the phone, and in the afternoon, I pack a bag with my artillery. I get to the little house; I don't see anyone. The shutters are down. I can't hear anything. As it would be a sacrilege to damage the car, I put plan B in motion: I take out the silicone tube and spread it all over the side where the lock is. If he wants to stay at home, I will give him a very strong reason to do so. He'll have to ask for help. Now that’s satisfying. Even though no one will know it was me, I'm elated.

Two days go by without any news and I am still having fun with my little prank, until Mr. Marín comes to my desk looking like a madman and asks me to call the police and a locksmith to the address I know quite well.

“What happened?”

“My mother came back from the hospital, where she has been admitted this past week with a flu that turned into pneumonia, and finds the door sealed with silicone. Yago is still with his mother in the countryside and my wife is hysterical. Make the phone call, I'm on my way.”

I want to die, he doesn't live alone or, what's worse, he doesn't live there, and I've gone too far with a granny who's not to blame for anything and who's also my boss's mother. I deserve two medals, one for being a knucklehead and another for losing my common sense.

If I think about it for a bit, I remember that the car hadn’t moved an inch. I could have deduced that it was not being used those days. I was only thinking of taking the Spoiled Brat down a peg. Is he with his mother? Why? And since when? I'm sure Mr. Marín knew, that's why he didn't ask about him again. I gather that the Spoiled Brat is related to my boss. He has no children (that I know of). What is the connection between them?

Now my conscience comes out on the ice rink, and I know that I have skated and fallen flat on my ass. I shouldn't have taken his reply personally. He doesn't know me. I feel smaller than I am (and I am short, well proportioned, green-eyed. Sweet, angel faced, my friends say, but stumpy). And I pray it never gets out that it was me, or I’m getting sacked immediately. Oh, no! I have to eat, I have a rent to pay for and a dog I'm responsible for –now that I think about it, responsible much, huh?

Mr. Marín doesn't come back. He calls to tell me so and adds that he is staying at home to calm his wife down, who is very nervous right now. I have the nerve to ask about his mother and he laughs.

“My mother is very calm. She thinks it's probably revenge from some girlfriend that her grandson hasn't called back.”

Bang, bang, bang, I’m gonna kill myself. Grandma's got him figured out.

The next day, I go for another walk and when I passed by "the scene of the crime" I couldn't even look. I walk back and see my boss and his mother on the pavement talking to a man who could be a painter, given his attire.

“Hello, Mr. Marín, good afternoon!”

“Hello, Amaia.”

“Who is this friend of yours?” Grandma asks me before her son introduces her to me. “He is so cute. He could be one of the three puppies Lupita gave birth to. They were stolen from us a few years ago. The mother is dead now,” And she muses aloud: “I think she died of grief, even though the vet said that the birth had left her very weak. The beating they gave her that day didn't help her recovery. Fucking bastards!” she lets out with a lot of hatred.

“It's Lian, my flat mate and my best friend. What do you mean, they were stolen?” I asks.

“The puppies were almost fully weaned and their mother was very protective of them. I went out to run some errands with my daughter-in-law and, as we were returning, we could hear the barking from far away. We ran and when we arrived, the dog was completely distraught, beaten to a pulp, protecting one puppy, and the other two were missing. I just can't think about them. It breaks my heart. I consoled her by telling her they were most likely stolen to be sold and that they will be kept by someone who cares for them.

I don't dare tell them that I found my dog around that time. He's mine, mine alone.

“Well, we're leaving," I tell them.

“Do you want us to take you somewhere?” Mr. Marín offers me.

“No, thanks. This route is our daily exercise and we're on our way back. So, we will resume our pace. See you tomorrow!

It would be amazing if Lian was the son of my boss's mother's Lupita!

6

ANOTHER WEEK BEGINS

The following Monday morning, as soon as my boss arrives, he smiles at me and hands me an envelope with some pictures.

“They are of Lupita with her newborn puppies. My mother asked me to hand them to you so you can see the resemblance. Your puppy has reminded her how much she loved her. My father gave her to her shortly before he died. He was a merchant marine and had bought her from a friend, also a crew member on that first trip to Mexico when they met, and that’s how she got her name. Yago also suffered a lot over what happened to the puppies. He and his mother were spending the summer at my mother's house, and he loved Lupita very much. She helped him a lot to find himself when he was feeling lost.”

“What happened to the third puppy?”